Bombs in the Dark
"I was on the train and there was a sudden jolt forward ... There
was a really hard banging from the carriage next door to us after the
explosion - that's where it happened. There was a fire beside me. I
saw flames outside on the window of my carriage ... I saw bodies. I
think some people may have died."
- Sarah Reid, the tube at Liverpool Street
_
Many stories have emerged from London of people coming out of themselves to help each other, amidst the panic of the bombs. I've felt a real sense of camaraderie, where normally we would expect just anonymous faces in the crowd.
It is this collective spirit that gives me hope. In times of adversity, we see how people can empathise and care for each other. Let us hold onto this spirit in the coming days, as the nine-to-five slog struggles to re-establish itself as the norm.
The determination of Londoners to join together and get on with their lives has been widely noted and praised. A perfect demonstration of the British "stiff upper-lip" that kept us level-headed during the turmoil of the Blitz and a long history of invasion.
But amidst our resolve to resume life as normal, let us not lose the opportunity to understand why this has happened. Let us not blindly absolve our responsibilities to the powers-that-be. They have played their part in creating this. Their greedy and divisive aims must be exposed and challenged – and at the same time, the selfish lie of the terorrists' dogma must be laid bare and crushed.
We have fanatics on both sides. May we hold dear to our heart-felt,
human values and fight the vested interests on all sides until the
true spirit of humanity is established.
_
"However dense the cimmerian darkness may be, the crimson dawn must follow. The fiends of hell may burst out in loud laughter, but all must fade in the void with the sunrise...
Those who love humanity and those who desire the welfare of living
beings should be vigorously active from this very moment, after
shaking off all lethargy and sloth, so that the most auspicious hour
arrives at the earliest."
- Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, New Year's Day, 1971
Comments and faves
drp (84 months ago | reply)
Quite well expressed. Living merely 20 miles west of New York City, I know terrorism well, as I do the unbelievable resolve and spirit of people in crisis. We mourn the victims, we pray for their souls, we vow to keep on living, but yes, we also have to change those "powers that be" that lead us down such treacherous roads.
madhavaji (84 months ago | reply)
Well said Prem, well said drp.This balance is not easy but truth points us this way ...
astrocruzan (84 months ago | reply)
Yes, we must strive to uphold the true spirit of humanity. Eloquent image and words.
astrocruzan added this photo to their favorites. (84 months ago)
al greer (84 months ago | reply)
amen to that, dude
premasagar (84 months ago | reply)
From an email conversation with a friend:
"I am very troubled to learn that the London bombers were British born. It challenged us to be a truly inclusive multi cultural society but I also fear a backlash agianst minority groups." - William
This is surely the challenge of our times - to see beyond our judgmentalism and the superficial nature of a person's skin, and yet still come down hard on the destructive ideologies and social networks that support them.
I think this applies equally to the terrorists in both camps: the religious fundamantalists... and the fanatical capitalists.
How can we be encouraged to nurture the potential for divinity, rather than that for destruction? Even the harsh hand that deals with these immoralists will surely need to be motivated by beauty, rather than wallowing in its own destruction.
We've got a lot to learn.
State Of Mind, LividFiction, matt666, ds productions, and 3 other people added this photo to their favorites.
ralphkerle (36 months ago | reply)
Hi, I am a digital poet and I'd love to use your image and acknowledge you in my new digital poem "Ballots, bullets, bombs, bodies democratize" found at The Digital Poetry of Rip Kungler www.digitalpoet.ning.com/!
tmist added this photo to their favorites. (27 months ago)
Weaponizer (26 months ago | reply)
Hi, I've used your image as the cover of a chapter of a short story on my website. Check it out here:
www.weaponizer.co.uk/onearticle.php?category= fiction&...
If you have any objections please let me know - I have credited you at the bottom of the page. All the writing under our site is also Creative Commons.
Thanks! Your photos are awesome.
principia aesthetica added this photo to his favorites. (12 months ago)